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“What about news from the others?” Wilder asks, still holding me in his arms. “Do they need assistance?”
Enzo shakes his head. “They’re treating Jarvis as an example. They don’t want to lose their lives over this. Not everyone is so bullheaded. We can make a difference peacefully from here.”
“I can’t believe it’s over.” I rest my chin on Wilder’s shoulder. It’s hard for me to truly embrace the thought. Because every time something good in my life happens, something shitty always follows.
“Believe it, Kinsey. This is real. We’re safe.” Wilder snuggles me as his brothers surround us, enveloping me in their arms.
“Then let’s go home,” I say. “I’m so fucking ready to just go home.”
Arsenio plays with my hair. “Soon, sugar. There are just a few more things we have to take care of first.”
***
“Drugging the well water did the trick.” Jude stands in the grand foyer of an enormous stone castle overlooking an expansive valley.
This is my first time getting to see such a large territory, the border wall a faint line in the distance. A place so breathtaking shouldn’t carry such a heinous reputation. It’s why my guys are handling it personally, going after any threat that could try to fill Jarvis’s place.
“They’re all bound and ready for transportation.” Motioning toward a dark room, he points out Jarvis’s closest pack mates. The staff sits on the floor together across the room, being treated as victims of their circumstances and not prisoners.
“Did you find the omegas from the Vixen Lounge?” Wilder asks the question on my mind. We couldn’t get to them when our palace was ambushed. Only the ones saved from the nest my uncle told us about made it to safety.
“Not only from there. You’re going to want to see this.” Jude tilts his head in the direction of what looks like a long hallway with a wooden door at the end. My guess is it’s the dungeon and something similar to ours. “It might be best if Kinsey stays here. It could upset her. You guys are going to want to cover your noses. The pheromones are intense. He had hormone shots administered to them, trying to get them to go into heat. Some fucked up shit.”
I shudder a gasp, a small cry escaping my mouth. How horrifying. Those poor omegas. If Jarvis wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him again. I’d cut off his balls and dick, shoving it down his throat so he could never mate. I’ve heard rumors about shit like this happening, but I never really saw it. It’s possible that Madame Tamsin had done such things, but the Gorgeous Girls never complained. I never saw anything myself.
“I need to go to them. Me and Desmond only.” I look at Wilder, Enzo, and Arsenio. “You handle the fuckers here. You find out everything you can about what he was doing. I don’t want you near the omegas. You’ll scare them.”
I might even scare them but will deal with that when I get there. All I can hope is that the ones who recognize me will know I’m a safe person. I hope they’ll recognize my scent through their heat-induced craze. They’ll be more wild, especially since they didn’t have time to prepare themselves.
God, help me. I hate this.
Desmond drapes his arm over my shoulders, pulling me in close. “We will do everything we can to make sure they’re comfortable and unafraid. If they panic with us, we’ll leave whatever they need to help out and then return for them when it’s over. I’ll have Aunt Melina come to ensure they’re getting through everything okay.”
My throat burns with unshed tears, and I bite my cheek to keep my mouth from quivering. “That’s a good plan.”
He digs his fingers into my shoulder. “Remember, it’s over. We’ve won the war.”
“I just hadn’t realized that the aftermath would be so bad.” I close my eyes, inhaling a deep breath. I can’t go facing the omegas if I’m not in complete control. And it’s hard. My body is still out of whack. I can feel the agitation boiling just below the surface. Anything unpleasant could make me snap.
“The worst is over. Everything will get better from here. Promise.” Desmond guides me forward, keeping his pace slow and even, ensuring that he doesn’t work up even an ounce of sweat.
The door at the end of the dimly lit hallway is open a crack as if whoever looked in here left in a hurry. My heart thrashes, the quick beats pounding in my ears. I can smell the scent of the omegas already. I crinkle my nose at the potent, unpleasant scent. While an unclaimed alpha might find them irresistible, heats tend to repulse other omegas and their bonded alphas. It’s our bodies trying to isolate ourselves with those we want to mate with without being bothered by others.
“Jude wasn’t lying. I don’t think I’ve ever smelled something so...” Desmond shakes his head, not finishing his thought out loud.
“I can go in alone if you want. I know it’s a bit gross.” I bring my shirt up to my nose, breathing in the woody, spicy scent of my guys still lingering on me. “I just want to see how far into it they are. If they are from the Vixen Lounge or another club, they would never have been suppressed and will most likely end pretty quickly. A day or two for the peak of it.”
I never thought mine was going to end, the third day the most intense, and I still feel like I’m coming off a lust-filled high even five days after it initially began. Fuck. I can’t believe it’s been that long. I can hardly remember anything besides the pleasure. It felt so hazy and surreal. Despite that, it was perfect.
Not like we’re about to discover right now.
“I’m good, Kinsey. I need to stay with you in case. I don’t know if they’re out of it or what. I don’t want you to get hurt.” Desmond pushes the door open completely, his chest heaving. He tries not to cough as the fragrance overwhelms him. He grabs his shirt and pulls it up, mimicking me.
“After you,” I say, waving my fingers toward the dark stairwell. Knowing that he won’t let me go alone means that I also don’t have to see things first. If it’s too much, Desmond will stop me.
I hope he doesn’t. Because if that’s the case, then it means he knows I can handle it.
“Stay close. I don’t want to startle them too badly by turning on all the lights. I know you prefer things dim, not overwhelming.” He pulls out his cell phone from his pocket and turns the flashlight on, lighting the stairs without setting the place aglow.
